SIX fire crews tonight tackled thick black smoke and flames as a blaze which started in a restaurant in Westcliff spread to the flat above.

Firefighters were called to London Road, Westcliff, this evening (Tuesday December 20) after a fire started in a restaurant.

In total, 18 people called 999 to report the fire because of the amount of smoke and the height of the flames.

Echo: The fire in London Road, Westcliff. Picture by Stewart Thomas The fire in London Road, Westcliff. Picture by Stewart Thomas (Image: Stewart Thomas)

 

Six fire engines and an aerial ladder platform were called in. Both the restaurant and flat suffered smoke and fire damage.

On arrival firefighters quickly surrounded the fire which had started in a ground floor restaurant and spread to a flat above.

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Station Manager Dave Walpole said: "Anyone who knows this street will know there are a lot of buildings tightly packed together, so our concern was the potential of it spreading.

"But thanks to our highly skilled crews we brought the fire under control and very quickly stopped it from spreading.

"By 8.15pm the fire was out and we'd ventilated the properties.

"We then used an aerial ladder platform (ALP) to access the roof and check for any hot spots."

Fire officers will carry out an investigation into the cause of the fire when it is safe to do so.